Flying top



R. SIMONEK FLYING TOP Feb. 16 1926. 1,573,527

Filed June 26. 1925 Patented Feb. 16, 1926.

' UNITED STATES I 1 ,573,527- PATENT oFFiicE.

mmoLrH. SIMONEK, or nnw yonx, N; Y., ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF TO'M'lICHA'EL PILN-ACEK, or NEW YORK, N. Y. Y Y

[ FLYING TOP.

Application filed. June 26,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that.I,.'RUDOLPH.SIMONEK, a citizenof Czechoslovakia, residing at'New York city, county and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Flying Top, of which the following is a specification. V I

This invention is a flying. top adapted to spin on both afi'oor and ceiling and embodies wings. or vanes, whereby the top, when rotated rapidly, is caused torise to and spinon the ceiling until its force is spent sufiiciently to effect its slow descent, whereby it will continue to spin but on the The invention embodies numerous novel features. For example, the topisma-de in .the formof a sp nner embodying a plu-,

lower-pins constitutes oneimportant feature i of thisinvention, since, never before top been provided adapted to be 3 the. ceiling. and provided With. a

spinningspun: on

peg. for: this purpose;

Anothen feature. of the invention resides win means whereby the. cord -normallyenroperated to release the spinner. In accordi .ployed to, impart rapid rotation to the top is automatically rewoundl upon. the drum H or spool with which it cooperates. 1 'Heretofore it has, been the practice in aerial toys f to windlup the string. manually and, as a general rule, the .winding of. the string is so loose. as t0 cause binding, whenfrapidly ance'. with the presentinvention, the string is pulled to release-the top'and astensionon the string is relieved, said string will be immediately rewound} and; made ready for subsequent spinning operation.

l'Additional features of the. invention. are found in thestructural peculiaritiespf the respective parts of the... device, which are of which vare formed coa panying drawings.

soon as 1925. Serial No. 39,853. Q

constituted to render the operating i parts efficient and at the same time economicalto manufacture. or example, the top embodying the wings and peripheral ring n ay, in practice, be stamped upfronisheet Inetaland a ring formed by rollinga port on of the blankso as to give a smooth sightly contour sufliciently heavy. to pro-- long rotation of the top in accordance with gyroscopic principles, but, sufficiently light,

so as not to seriously interfere with. the

function of the Wings iii-lifting the top to the ceiling. Moreover, the meansfor operating, the. top may be of veryf'simple construction as is more fully set forthhereinafter. v

Features of the invention, other than those specified, will be apparent, from the hereinafter. detailed description and claim, when read in conjunction withfthe accent;

The accompanying drawings illustrate I different practical embodiments of." the invention, but the constructions shown therein are to be understood as illustrative, only, end not as defining. the. limits of theinven- Figure 1 is aperspective view partly in section showing. one form. or thev present invention. In thisview', the device is shown in operation, the top having. justleftthe operatingmeans and in the act .of ascend- .ingi [Figure 2 isa central section of, atmodifiecl form of operating means;

FigureB, is a fragmental side-elevation:

of partof the construction offFigure'2.

' Figure -4r. isa fragme'ntallelevatiompartly I in section of another mo difiedfg formlfofoperating means; and, f v I Figure5 isv a. section on" the. line 15%5. of Figure 1-. Y iv 'Referringito ticularly to the construction ofI-Figuresl and-5, 1 designates a suitable handleshown inthis form of theinvention as inadeof wood. One. end of the handle is .;pr0vided jwithapocket .2 into which is forced one end of at'ubeJS so asto-be rigid with the handle. Over: the projecting portion-of thew tube a. spoollor drum;4L-'-is slipped andi the free end'of the sleevelflanged out,'assh'o\ vn at 5, to hold thedrum. in position while. permitting. rotation'oif'the drum on the tube.

A cord 6 is coiled about thedrumvand'when the drawings andinore partension is applied to the cord to unwind the same, rotation is imparted to said drum for the purpose of actuating the top 7.

Positioned coaxially of and in the top of the drum is a pocket 8 and at diametrically opposite sides of the pocket, are two operating arms 9. These arms are shown 1n the form of pins driven into the end of the drum and substantially parallel to one another, although in practice, they may be bent out of parallel relation for reasons hereinafter more fully described.

The top 7 embodies a ring 10 formed integral with a plurality of vanes 11 Wl'UCl] extend radially of the ring and are joined together at the center. These parts may, in practice, be stamped up from sheet metal and the ring formed by rolling in the periphery of the blank, as shown in Figure 5, so as to furnish a smooth surface. The vanes are each bent out of the true plane of the blank, so that each vane forms a portion of the helix in order that said vanes may function as propellor blades and thereby impart a lifting action to the top when the top is rapidly rotated.

Positioned coaxially of the top are two pegs 12 and 13, both of which are in alinement and may, in practice, be made in one piece passed through a perforation in the blank and rigidly secured in position. The peg 12 may be termed the upper peg since it extends in an upward direction to a point above the uppermost points of the blades. The peg 13 may be termed the lower peg as it extends downwardly to a point well below the lowermost point of the blades. The free ends of both pegs are rounded or pointed to provide eflicient bearing surfaces on which the top is adapted to spin.

Formed in the blank from which the top is made and at opposite sides of the axis are two holes 9 which are spaced from the axis the same distance as the arms 9 are spaced from the pocket 8, so that when the peg 13 is seated in the pocket, the arms 9 will extend through the perforations 9. This is the preferred arrangement, although, if desired, the arms may be set further apart so as ,to engage with the edges of two of the blades 11 and in that case, the perforations 9 will not be necessary. Moreover, four operating arms instead of two can be used.

When the top is seated on the drum in the manner described and the cord wound upon said drum, the handle may be held in an upstanding position and the cord pulled to impart rapid rotation to the drum. Such rotation will be communicated to the top, which, because of the lifting action of the blades will rise from the top of the drum and after disengaging itself from the operating arms in the pocket will ascend to the ceiling, with which the peg 12 will engage. The rapid rotation of the top will cause the top to remain in engagement with. the ceiling and spin on the peg 12 until. the force of such rotation is spent, whereupon the top will slowly gravitate to the floor, whereat the peg 18 will engage while the top continues to spin until its force is fully spent. During these operations, the momentum of the ring 10 will exert a gyroscopic action on the top so as to prolong its activity.

In Figure 2, I have illustrated a modified form of construction wherein the handle 1 is in the form of a tube provided in one side with a slot 1 and closed at its opposite ends by plugs 15 and 16. A tube 3 extends through the full length of the handle and beyond one end thereof is split to provide radially extending brackets 17, the free ends of which are turned up to provide operating arms 9 as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

These operating arms are so shaped that both their forward and rear edges 18 and 19 slope in a direction in which the top leaves the operating means for reasons presently to be described.

The lower end of the tube 3 has asso ciated therewith a screw 20 to hold the tube against longitudinal movement in one direst-ion, while the brackets 17 will preclude its movement in the other direction.

Positioned within the handle 1 is a coil ed spring 21, one end of which is anchored to the plug 16 at 22 and the other end of which is anchored to the tube 3 at 23. A string 24 extends through the slot 14 and is secured to the tube at 25. The parts are so arranged that when the spring is de-energized, the cord will be wound upon the tube, the unwinding of the cord serving to energize the spring. Thus, in normal condition, the cord is wound on the tube and the spring de-energized. If the top shown in Figure 1 is seated on the brackets 17 with the lower peg. 13 extending into the interior of the tube and the operating arms 9 projecting between the blades, the spring will thus be in a position to operate the top and if quickly pulled will impart rapid rotation to the tube and top for the purpose of freeing the top and causing its ascending.

Simultaneously with the withdrawal of the string, the spring will be placed under tension so that as soon as the tension on the string is relieved the spring will immediate ly wind up the string. I have referred to the particular shaping of the operating arms 9 They are shaped so as to sub stantially conform to the helix of rising motion of the blades, so that as the top leaves the blades, there will be practically little if any friction between blades and the'operating arms. This feature renders the devicehighly efficient in imparting prolonged rotation to the top.

It will be noted that in each of the several embodiments of the invention shown,

the device embodies, generally stated, an aerial top provided with two pegs and'a suitable drum adapted to be locked against rotation to the top for the purpose of .op-

In Figure 1, the drum erating said top.

in Figbears the reference character 5;

ures 2 and 3, the tube 1 and brackets 17' V Collectively form the drum, while in Figure 4, the tube 3* and head 26' form the drum. In Figures 2 and 3, two brackets and two operating arms are shown, although'fit'will be understood that three or more may be formed on the drum.

I am aware that aerial toys embodying spinners are old and well known, and make noclaim to these broadly. It will be i apparent from thevforegoing description,

however, that the invention embodies certain novel features, certain of which produce new results and others "of which produce old results in a greatly improved manner. For example, the use of both upper and lower pegs adapting the top to spin on a ceiling embodies pronounced novelty.

Moreover, the employment of 1 automatic means to rewind the cord is also highly novel in this art. Otherfeatures than those to which I have not now specifically referred have hereinbefore been described in detail. The drawings show preferred embodiments of the invention, and the invention is to be understood as fully commensurlate with the appended claim.

,Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

An aerial top embodying a plurality of radially extending lifting blades supported at their outer ends by an integral ring of hollow circular cross section, said top being provided with twov coaxial pegsone of which extends upwardly and is adapted to cooperate with a ceiling and the other one of which extends downwardly and-is adapted to cooperate with a floor, in combination with operating means for said top comprising a handle, a drum rotatably mounted on the handle and provided in its end with a hole into which'the lower peg of the top is adapted to seat, a cord having one of its ends secured to the drum and the remainder of the cord being adapted to be wound on the drum, arms carried by the drum and projecting beyond the end thereof and into engagement with the blades to preclude relative rotation between the top and the V drum when the peg of the top is in engagement'with the hole of the drum.

In testimony whereof I havesigned the foregoing specification. I

. RUDOLPH SIMQN'EK. 

